Bids for the final phase of the high school renovation, athletic event community conduct and administrative development were among the myriad of topics discussed at Thursday’s Columbia School Board meeting.

Construction at Columbia High School was the subject of the board’s final action item for the meeting as it approved bids for phase three of the project.

As previously reported, the first phase of the project consisted of renovations and an expansion to the front of the building, improving the office space and entrance, adding an auditorium and other items.

Phase two, which is currently in progress, centers around the addition of a new competition gym.

This third phase concerns some additional renovations around the school, particularly updating flooring to ensure the old parts of the facility are kept in-line with the new portions.

Columbia Superintendent of Schools Chris Grode noted other elements of the project, with work to be done on the school’s flooring and walls alongside the installation of a kitchen cooler and alteration of the old choir room to expand the commons area.

Grode spoke positively about the bids, with the total cost for phase three amounting to $2,744,614.60.

Columbia School Board President Greg Meyer was likewise positive as the board continued general discussion about the project.

“All the bids came in actually much less than we were expecting,” Meyer said. “When we do this, we send it out for bid and we say, ‘These are the core items that we want, this is our wish list,’ and we’re able to pretty much do every core item plus the wish list and get it done. That puts the entire high school project now bid, confirmed and said and done under budget. As long as we can get it done on time now, which I think we’re on track.”

Board member Adam Hemken noted that progress on the new gym should see major headway in the next few weeks as the space’s outer perimeters go up.

Grode voiced thanks to the community for its patience as trucks bringing in materials for the project are expected to cause temporary traffic woes.

Other action items approved by the board included the 2025 teacher administrator salary report and the purchase of a skid-steer and trailer.

The equipment purchase item prompted a deal of discussion among the board, with Meyer and Hemken in particular sharing their insight into what the board should be pursuing.

This item was previously tabled last month as it was decided more research should be done on what accessories and equipment the district would need.

It was acknowledged the skid steer would need to be heavy enough to handle parking lot ice as cold weather sets in while also being light enough to be transported on the trailer by district staff.

It was ultimately decided – after some alterations to the dollar amount – the district would purchase a used skid steer with accessories while going out to bid for a new trailer, the overall price cap at $75,000.

Another action item came at the end of the meeting following executive session, as the board approved the expulsion of a student for two years because, as the motion read by Hemken stated, “the student engaged in egregious conduct and that the student’s continued presence at school poses a threat to the safety of other students and staff and substantially disrupts the operation of the school.”

Regarding discussion earlier in the meeting, the board had some fun during the monthly building report from Columbia Middle School as they were shown some of what students experience via virtual reality headsets – particularly getting to see simulations of the Wright Brothers’ flight and a Native American site.

The board also heard about students’ work with stop motion animation, namely in their ELA classes summarizing stories.

Columbia Assistant Superintendent of Schools Amanda Ganey spoke about a variety of recent meetings and conferences with district administrators including some collaboration with other districts.

Ganey also discussed efforts toward expanding the high school’s vocational pathways.

“We wanna start to branch out and allow our students to have all different sorts of experiences in these different focused trades,” Ganey said. “For instance, January might be construction trades, so we might have a Columbia business come in, and then we might try to find someone across the river to come in and meet with our students and talk about their industry and the opportunities that they have as well.”

In his report, Grode echoed some of Ganey’s sentiments about collaboration among folks within the Columbia School District and with folks outside the district.

“The collaboration, having the admin team go up to Naperville and Hinsdale to see what other places are doing is so good because everybody brings a little bit to the table,” Grode said. “We’re having conversations about our differences, but those differences and laughing about them is allowing us to be able to say, ‘OK, let’s try this then.’”

Also in his report, Grode made note of a prospective move for the Career Center of Southern Illinois from rural Monroe County into Red Bud at the SWIC campus.

Additionally, he discussed a change to the school resource officer arrangement with the Columbia Police Department as it is no longer allowing the SRO to make citations for vaping on school grounds.

Discussion at the end of the meeting prompted by board member Kelly Meurer touched on topics discussed during a recent safety meeting.

Grode went on to lead the conversation, saying many districts are dealing with issues such as young kids attending sporting events unsupervised, whether or not to allow drink tumblers into events and what the limits are regarding grilling and tailgating at athletic events.

“A lot of districts are looking at that, and we’re gonna look more into what’s going to be involved with that and how we can maybe set our expectations or make sure we’re clear that, ‘This area, we’re not driving around, we’re not running around,’ how do we supervise that,” Grode said.

For Columbia specifically, Grode also discussed the issue of people avoiding the ticket gate at events due to the lack of fencing. Also brought up were issues of dog waste being left on school fields or paths, lights at fields being turned on and not turned off, and penalty kick areas on district soccer fields being worn down by public use.

Ganey brought up that further discussion of these matters is planned for January, suggesting that expectations for conduct at district athletic events and venues be drafted.

The board also touched on potentially setting up a timer to shut down the new digital scoreboard at night.

Additionally, the previously discussed matter of a cell tower being installed on district property was indicated as “dead” as it was suggested the developer was uninterested in going through city zoning requirements.